Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti sentenced to life in jail by Chinese court

By Philip Wen and Sanghee Liu

Urumqi: In a prosecution condemned by foreign governments and human rights groups, China has sentenced prominent Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti to life in jail on charges of separatism.

"The wide attention of the case has made them come down especially heavy with the sentence," Mr Tohti's lawyer Li Fangping told Fairfax Media shortly after the verdict was announced. "It shows their determination to send a message."

Ilham Tohti during his trial on separatism charges.Credit:Reuters

The severity of the sentence, handed down amid tight security around the Urumqi People's Intermediate Court on Tuesday, shocked even those of Mr Tohti's supporters who were braced for the very worst.

Mr Tohti yelled out in protest upon hearing the verdict, his lawyers said. His wife Guzaili Nu'er, overcome with grief, left the court weeping and was helped into a taxi by other family members.

Advertisement

Ilham Tohti's wife Guzaili Nu'er is helped into a taxi after the verdict.Credit:Sanghee Liu

Widely seen internationally as a passionate but moderate voice pushing for the rights of his fellow Uighurs, Mr Tohti, 44, has in turn been branded by the Chinese government as a ringleader of a group that colluded with overseas separatist forces, using his status as an economics professor at Beijing's Minzu University to recruit followers and his website, Uighur Online, to incite ethnic hatred.

Mr Tohti's supporters argue his prosecution has been an opportunistic move by the government to silence a consistent thorn in their side, while deterring other moderate critics from speaking out amid a broader crackdown on intellectuals and rights activists across the country.

"This is the worst outcome and the most serious political revenge to a prisoner of conscience," rights activist Hu Jia said.

The United States and the European Union have repeatedly called for the release of Mr Tohti, who was detained in January.

"Tohti has consistently, courageously and unambiguously advocated peacefully for greater understanding and dialogue," Sophie Richardson, the China director at Human Rights Watch said. "If this is Beijing's definition of 'separatist' activities, it's hard to see tensions in Xinjiang and between the communities decreasing."

Human Rights Watch researcher Maya Wang said the sentence was "incredibly harsh", and "unprecedented for a prominent activist in China in recent memory".

Escalating violence in the past year involving Uighurs - a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority native to Xinjiang - and Chinese security forces has claimed at least 300 lives and prompted the government to launch an unprecedented security crackdown targeted at what it says are separatist terrorist groups seeking independence for the region.

A wave of violent public attacks that began late last year, including a blazing car explosion at Tiananmen Square, a gruesome knife attack at a railway station in Kunming, and a market bombing in Urumqi, appear to support the government's claim that the attacks were premeditated.

But the outbreak of other violent incidents in remote parts of rural Xinjiang, which have seen police shoot and kill scores of Uighurs, have proven to be impossible to independently verify.

In court last week, Mr Tohti said in his closing statement that "he loved his country" and that he had "always opposed separatism and terrorism, and that not a single one of his articles supported separatism", according to his lawyer.

"He is a great teacher and a great citizen, he loved his country," a former student of Mr Tohti's, who asked not be identified, told Fairfax Media. "My reaction is one of sadness. And I believe that will be the reaction of all Uighur people, not just the students in my school."